The One That Got Away
by PleaseDoNotGoogleMe
Summary: After moving to New York with Puck, Finn settles into the new and loud city life so different from his former quiet town. But when he meets a new co-worker, he finally gets the chance to meet with that one girl who changed his life. Completely AU.
1. Morning Routines

th A siren blared through his window, causing Finn Hudson to snap awake.

His eyes shriveled as the sunlight entered his room. Finn rubbed them pitifully, before letting his arm drop back onto the bed. His eyes wandered to his alarm clock on the bedside table, widening when he saw the time. _8.30 am. _

He couldn't believe he was late. _Again. _

He yelled, "Fuck!" into his pillow, ignoring the naked blond beside him.

He rolled over slowly, placing his feet on the cold timber. He stood up carefully, holding onto his bedside table for support as he grabbed his boxers of the floor. He put them on, before he felt the sickly sour taste rise into his mouth. Finn ran into his bathroom, retching last night's dinner. He rested his arm on the rim, coughing slightly. The blond back in his room made a small groan as she woke up.

"Morning" he heard from behind him.

"Morning" he mumbled back. He stood up, shuffling back into his room.

"Fuck" she said as she looked to his clock.

"My thoughts exactly" he replied.

She started to look frantically for her clothes while he sat there.

Once she had gathered her things and stood dressed at his doorway she smiled, "Last night was great, maybe we can do it again".

He smiled back, "Sure".

She gave him a nod as she left his apartment. He laughed to himself, _No fucking way. _

Finn sighed as he staggered into his tiny kitchen, grabbing 2 painkillers for his splitting headache. He made an instant coffee to attempt to start his pulse again before grabbing his jeans off the floor and stumbling into his bedroom.

"Never again" he said to himself as he got in the shower.

But who's he kidding, he told himself the same thing every Monday morning. After he finished he slid on his jeans, before raiding his closet for his white shirt. He clumsily put on his tie, before grabbing his black converses and backpack before heading out. He ran down the flight of stairs, nearly falling and snapping his neck a couple times. He threw the door open, sprinting down the busy New York streets to Starbucks. The bell pierced his ears as he cut through the line to a darkhaired barista behind the coffee machine.

"Hey man" Finn said over the noise of the machine.

"Oh hey, the usual dude?" Puck replied.

"Yeah, but make it quick, I'm so late it's not even funny" Finn said.

Puck glanced at his watch, "Shit man, it's a quarter to 9".

Finn grimaced at the time, "I know. Listen, tell Bruce I'm gonna be a bit late to work tonight".

"Why?" Puck asked while writing something on a cup.

"'Cause Williams has me working off my ass, that's why" Finn said, wincing when a customer shouted an order to another barista.

Puck shook his head in amazement, "Dude, you need a new job, come work here with me".

Finn smiled, "Thanks but no thanks, I work with you at one job and that's enough, not to mention going to college with you".

"You know you love me" Puck said, fluttering his eyes.

Finn licked his lips seductively at Puck before chuckling.

Puck joined in as he handed Finn his coffee, "Get outta here before you will actually need to work here with me".

Finn groaned at his words as he half-heartedly gave Puck a salute,"See ya later bro".

Puck waved goodbye before he shouted, "Wait! Who was that chick you left the bar with last night?".

Finn turned around, "Oh, we had a bit of fun back at my place", he winked.

"I can tell" Puck said, nodding his head at Finn's distinct hickey on his neck.

"Dude. She asked me to call her" Finn said, raising his eyebrows.

"And?" Puck said, urging him to go on.

Finn looked at Puck confused, "And... What? Y'know I'm not gonna".

"Why? She was hot as" Puck reasoned.

"I know", he agreed, "But I can't deal with a relationship right now, I've got school, 3 jobs and a New York apartment which I'm renting by myself because someone had to move in with his girlfriend" he said, making a sour face.

Puck snorted as he responded, "Hey, I feel for you. But trust me, despite leaving my favourite butt buddy", Finn inclined his head, "I love Rachel... I'm even thinking of... y'know..." he blushed as he looked down.

Finn smiled, "Seriously?"

Puck grinned back, "Seriously. Look I hear ya, the love them and leave them thing is awesome, there's no feelings... no strings attached, but trust me. You'll want a steady girlfriend soon enough".

Finn scoffed at this, "Not a chance".

Puck shrugged as he handed a Danish to a customer, "Whatever". The sickly sweet smell of the icing reached Finn's nose and before he knew it, he was gagging.

"You alright?" Puck chuckled.

"Never again..." Finn groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

Puck gave Finn his best _Are you fucking kidding me _faces as he said, "That's what you say every Monday morning that you rock up here. Dude, you do this to yourself. Sunday night parties suck anyways. And they bite you in the ass the morning after words".

Finn shook his head, "Whatever, I'm seriously leaving now. I'll see you at work tonight".

"Go forth my son" Puck said while failing at keeping a straight face.

Finn chuckled as he made his way to the subway.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey Guys! I know I know... I've been dead for a while, but hey, I'm back :) So basically, here's the stitch (Kim possible reference) I've just lost all urge to write Can't Live Without You and have considered deleting it. As you all know, the past couple of chapters have been few and far between and not up to my usual standards. But hey, this is my new story. <strong>

**I don't want to give away to much but I hope (!) that you guys will like it. Basically, Finn's a bit of a sleaze, don't hate him, you'll see his reasons soon enough, but like I said I don't want to give away too much. But the story isn't set on the that, Quinn will make an appearance soon, not next chapter, but definitely soon. **

**As always, I love you guys, please give a review, and stay safe x**


	2. Meet Her Fiance

Finn snuck into his small cubicle, looking around warily for his boss before starting his dusty computer. He sighed, the best thing about his job was the only people who actually did the work were the Asians and nerds with no life. You could basically sleep all day if you weren't called. Unfortunately for Finn, his phone rang off the hook for the first hour.

"Tech Support, this is Finn Hudson" he said in a monotone voice. He rubbed his eyes as the customer talked for ages about the problem with her printer. "Okay, did you try turning it off then on?". He tapped his pencil impatiently on the wooden desk as the customer rambled on yet again. "Okay go turn it off, no, no, just off. Okay now give it a second. Now turn it back on. Is it printing now?". He smiled as the customer thanked him, "Great, anytime".

_Another annoying dumb customer _he thought as he placed the phone back in its socket.

He attempted to get some rest but with the printers whirring, people electrically sharpening their pencils and phones ringing, it was pretty damn impossible. He snapped awake when he heard his boss' voice through the lobby. He sat up straight and clicked on an old document for phone lines.

"Hudson!" boss boomed.

"Morning Mr. Williams" he said politely, though he wished he could somehow poison him.

"This is Jake Collins" he gestured to the blond guy that about his age behind him, "He's new here. He's going to be in the cubicle next to you, I expect you to show him the ropes" he said, narrowing his eyes at Finn.

"Yes, sir" Finn said, already whirring back to his computer.

Williams gave a curt nod as he walked away, pushing some small guy out of the way. Jake raised his eyebrows as he sat down in the cubicle next to Finn.

"Woah... scary guy" he said, placing his backpack underneath his desk.

Finn chuckled, "You haven't seen anything yet, that's him being nice".

He whirled to face Jake, holding out his hand, "Finn Hudson".

"Jake Collins" he stated, shaking Finn's hand.

"So... Jake, where ya from?" Finn said, attempting to make conversation while swinging from side to side in his wheelie chair.

"Grew up in L.A... came here for a breath of fresh air, I guess" he said shrugging.

"Preach" Finn replied.

"Yeah, where are you from?" he asked.

Finn smiled, "Lima, Ohio".

"Serious?" Jake said surprisingly.

"Yeah, why?" Finn asked confused.

My fiancé's from Lima" he said smiling.

Finn smiled back, very interested, "No kidding? Did she going to McKinley?".

"Yeah she did. Woah, small world, huh?" he said, fully facing Finn now.

"Tell me about it. What's the lucky girl's name?" he asked.

Jake's eyes glazed over before responding, "Quinn Fabray".

* * *

><p>Finn felt his heart stop for a second.<p>

"Q-Quinn Fabray?" he coughed.

"Yeah, did you know her?" Jake asked, still having that stupid lovey look on his face.

"She was...one of my best friends" he lied, _really? Best friend? That's what you got? _

"Seriously?" Jake said, grinning widely.

_Nope. _"Yeah, we had a bit of a falling out at the end of senior year" he lied again.

"Damn, what about?" Jake asked.

Finn cleared his throat as he thought of some excuse, "Um, stuff. Really... really... stupid stuff".

Jake nodded his head slowly but seemed to get that Finn didn't want to talk about it. Finn changed the subject quickly, "So fiancé, huh? When are you guys tying the knot?".

Jake smiled again, "Ah, 2 months".

Finn smiled at his lovesick expression, _this_ was why he didn't want a girlfriend.

"Wow. You're a lucky guy. Quinn is..." he trailed off. _Gorgeous. Smart. Sweet. Caring._

"Amazing?" Jake added.

"Exactly" Finn breathed.

"Hey, y'know, come to our engagement party" Jake said.

Finn snapped out of trance and brought himself back to reality. "What? No, I couldn't" he said.

"Yeah, you can. Just come, free drinks, food, and you can patch things up with Quinn. You must be a pretty awesome guy to have been best friends with her" Jake said convincingly.

"I'll see" Finn said, relenting a little.

Jake shrugged, "Whatever you decide, it's this Friday. 6".

"Cool, I'll tell you when I have a look at my calendar", Finn decided, "Put your number in and I'll give you a call" he said, giving his phone to Jake.

"Great" Jake said as he tapped his number in. Before Jake could pass Finn back his phone, Mr. Williams sauntered over to Finn cubicle.

Finn sighed, _What the fuck is the problem now? _

"Hudson, I'll need you're service report by tonight" he said, a smirk growing at the corner of his mouth.

"But you gave it to me yesterday" Finn replied, giving him a weird look.

The smirk disappeared, "Then I guess you better work late".

As soon as his boss was out of earshot, Finn whirled back to his computer and sighed, "Fuck me".

Jake placed Finn's phone on his desk as he said, "Does he... do that often?".

"Please. More than often" Finn said through his teeth.

Jake shrugged, "I can help you with it if you need to be going someplace...".

"Nah dude it's cool" he said, clicking on a document.

"So... you do know how to work these things?" Finn said, knowing that Jake probably did.

"I'm not fucking retarded, I know how to work a computer" Jake said with an amused look.

Finn chuckled, "I know, just tell me if you need help. I'm gonna write this pain in the ass report".

"Sure thing" Jake said as he whirled to his on desk, giving him a thumbs up.

* * *

><p>When Finn finally got out of the office, the entire building was pitch black and the sun had already set, leaving the sky in brilliant colors of orange, pink and purple. Finn stood there for a couple of minutes, despite being unbelievably late, he was transfixed. As he stood there, counting the colors, remembering the different hues, or maybe because he now worked with her fiance, he couldn't help remembering the time he saw a similar sunset.<p>

When he was 16.

"**Is this even allowed?" she said as she cast uncertain glances around the pitch. **

**"You worry too much" Finn said, holding out his hand. **

**She gave one more look around the stadium before placing her hand in his firm grip. He pulled her up into his lap, chuckling like a little girl at the way she held onto him tightly. **

**"Finn, you know I don't like heights" she said as she loosened her grip nervously. **

**"Then how come you're the flyer in your squad?" Finn said. **

**"Because I know the people at the bottom will catch me, you on the other hand. Not so much" she said, smiling. **

**"I'm offended. You know I'll catch you" he said, reaching out for her hand and walking to the edge of the roof. She smiled wider as they sat down, watching the last rays pierce through the navy purple sky. She leaned her head on his shoulder, the silence not disturbing them as the sun sunk below the horizon. They sat there for a while, watching as stars filled the rays empty space. **

**But soon it was coming closer to her curfew and they had to leave. **

**"How are we supposed to get down?" she asked. **

**"I jump, then I catch you" he replied, looking over the edge. **

**"Are you insane?" she asked incredulously, "You'll break something". **

**"No, I won't" he said, shaking his head. **_**Okay, maybe, **_**he admitted to himself. **

**But before she could protest he leaped off the small building, bending his knees as he landed. A giddy expression took over his emotions for a small moment as he stood up straight. **_**I didn't die… he sang in his head. **_**"C'mon!" he yelled back up at her. **

**"Finn, is there like a ladder or rope…" she said uncertainly as she looked over the edge. **

**"Just jump" he said back at her. **

**"No! What if you fall over from catching me?" she asked. **

**"Then you'll still have a soft landing" he answered. She sucked in a breath before she nimbly jumped off. Finn held out his arms as he caught her, his breath getting knocked out of him. **

**"Please say I didn't die" she said, her eyes still closed. **

**"You're alive" he confirmed, "I caught you". **

**"Oh thank god" she said, relief crossing over her face. **

**"You had that little faith in me, really?" he said, slightly shocked. **

**"No. Maybe. Just a little" she said with an amused expression. **

**"So if there some prize for that amazing catch just then, money, candy, food" he joked before realizing he was still holding her. "Sorry" he mumbled as he let her onto the ground. **

**"Okay, you have to close your eyes though" she said, reaching into her pockets. **

**"Fine" he said reluctantly. **

**For a few seconds, there was only silence. **

**Then he felt her lips crash onto his. And before he could respond, her lips were gone and she was walking away from him. He smiled at her retreating figure, **

**"Hey, when can I see you again?" he yelled. She turned around, **

**"You see me every day at school" she said, a smirk on her lips. **

**"Like this, Quinn" he said as he walked towards her. **

**She thought for a few moments, "After practice on Friday" she said, suppressing a smile. **

**"Cool" he grinned.**

* * *

><p>But that was in Lima.<p>

He was in New York.

And that was 8 years ago.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey Guys!<strong>

**That's chapter 2, honestly, I'm feeling it but it's a filler, we all know I hate fillers. Kudos (Cudos?) to you if you know where the part where Finn is talking to the customer from, I wonder if any of you actually know. But whatever, next chapter... hopefully next week but you guys know me. I'm terrible. Well, stay safe, and I hope to post soon x**

**P.S.**

**Alison, no that wasn't Quinn that he slept with, it was some random blonde who might make another appearance, I'm not sure yet**


End file.
